By Xinhua,
Gaza : Palestinian politicians and analysts agreed that Israeli political crisis evolving from the corruption allegations against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the notions to topple him negatively impacted on the Palestinian-Israeli talks and might lead to Israeli military escalation.
What’s more, though their opinions vary on whether the downfall of Olmert might lead to that of his negotiation partner, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, they all agree that it would at least weaken him.
Israeli Defense Minister and chairman of the Labor Party Ehud Barak on Wednesday asked Olmert to step aside after a U.S. businessman testified on Tuesday that he gave Olmert 150,000 U.S. dollars in cash over 15 years.
Barak said that his Labor Party could force an early election if Olmert refused to go, raising mounting speculations on the fate of the Israeli leader as well as of the prospect of the Israeli political arena in the wake of the crisis.
Wissam Afifa, chief editor of the pro-Hamas al-Resala semi-weekly newspaper, noted that Abbas, already in despair and pessimism after his last visit to Washington as U.S. President George W. Bush pledged little regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state, will encounter a new blow if a new premier is elected in Israel.
With the downfall of Olmert, the consequent elections would surely bring about turbulences in the Israeli political arena, according to Afifa. Besides, any new Israeli ministerial formation will have its own views, and all those do not bode well for the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
The chief editor expected that in case Olmert is brought down, Abbas will fall as well. However, he stressed that Abbas’ has not lost all his cards yet, and he might turn to mend the Palestinian-Palestinian file after the failure to appeasing Israel and the United States.
However, according to Afifa, the Israeli internal situation will not affect the Hamas movement too much, as its stance from the very beginning has been clear enough and it never bet on negotiations and Bush’s baseless guarantees.
Political analyst Tala Okal from the Gaza Strip also believes Olmert’s downfall will have an effect on the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, though “everybody knows that Israel is collecting excuses to spoil the talks or to minimize its results.”
Dismissing America’s statements that Olmert’s resignation will not affect the peace talks as mere “hot air”, Okal stressed that the scandal allegations weakened Olmert’s position and disabled him to take any decision.
However, he also dismissed the idea that Abbas may resign if Olmert is sent out of office or the talks would totally fail, adding that failure of talks would mean the failure of the U.S. administration in the region.
In the same context, Okal warned that Israel might escalate its military operations on Gaza in light of the predicament Olmert is in, pointing out that there are people who circulate the scandal to affect the future of the centrist Kadima party.
Olmert’s Kadima party’s victory in March 2006 elections had been based on a platform of dismantling dozens of settlements and withdrawing troops from most of the occupied West Bank, after a similar withdrawal from Gaza the previous year.
Okal also said that Barak is trying to seize the opportunity to get himself prepared to be the next prime minister.
Another political analyst, Saleh al-Naamai, agreed that the corruption allegations against Olmert will paralyze his political abilities.
With the scandal, Olmert’s approach to reactivate the peace process with Abbas would be viewed as an escape from the corruption issues, which consequently hampers the peace talks, according to al-Naamai.
Al-Naamai, specialized in Israeli affairs, advised Abbas to resign or seek to solve the Palestinian internal problem if a political settlement with Israel is beyond reach, as Olmert’s resignation and the possible collapse of talks will gravely embarrass Abbas as currently his political program is mainly based on the negotiations.
If Olmert resigns after officially indicted, as he has promised, it will give Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni a chance to chair a new government, al-Naamai said.